Affordable Comfort

Building America
Building America is a private/public partnership sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that conducts research to find energy-efficient solutions for new and existing housing that can be implemented on a production basis.Click here for web link»

Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology (PATH)
PATH is a public/private partnerhip dedicated to accelerating the development and use of technologies that radically improve the quality, durability, energy efficiency, environmental performance, and affordability of America’s housing.Click here for web link»

Affordable Housing Related Organizations

Affordable Housing Development Competition Introduction
This site provides information on an Affordable Housing Development competition under the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.Click here for web link»

Affordable Residential Communities (American Residential Communities)
An affordable housing business that aims to create a real sense of community in manufactured home communities across the United States.Click here for web link»

Asian Neighborhood Design
Created by a California non-profit organization, this site focuses on architecture and community planning, employment training, and family and youth services to low-income multicultural communities throughout the Bay Area.Click here for web link»

Center for Architecture and Building Science Research
Created by the New Jersey Institute of Technology, this site provides affordable housing design, community development and evaluation research.Click here for web link»

Center for Housing Policy
The Center, a research affiliate of the National Housing Conference, provides education and research on America’s affordable housing challenges and examines the impact of policies and programs developed to address these needs.Click here for web link»

HomeSafe
This site provides information on transitional housing and support services for battered women and their children.Click here for web link»

Institute for Community Economics
This site provides valuable information about affordable housing and community economic development issues.Click here for web link»

Living Cities
Living Cities is an innovative philanthropic collaborative of 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions focused on improving the lives of low-income people and the urban areas in which they live.Click here for web link»

Minimum Cost Housing Group
The Minimum Cost Housing Group of the McGill University School of Architecture is an educational and research unit that focuses attention on the human settlement problems of poor nations.Click here for web link»

National Housing Conference
The Center for Housing Policy is the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The Center works to broaden the understanding of America’s affordable housing challenges and examines the impact of the developed policies and programs.Click here for web link»

National Housing Trust
This is a national nonprofit engaged in housing preservation through real estate development, lending, and public policy initiatives.Click here for web link»

National Low Income Housing Coalition
This organization is solely dedicated to ending America’s affordable housing crisis, with an advocacy focus on those with the most serious housing problems.Click here for web link»

Neighborhood Works America-LINKS
Provided by a national nonprofit organization, the following links to organizational and governmental sites represent various aspects of the affordable housing and community revitalization field.Click here for web link»

NeighborWorks Net
A national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.Click here for web link»

Arizona-Related Practices, Policies, and Resources

Arizona Department of Housing
Provides affordable housing information as well as resources for communities in Arizona.Click here for web link»

Arizona Housing Alliance
Arizona Housing Alliance is a statewide housing organization that supports and advocates for quality housing that Arizonans can afford.Click here for web link»

Children’s Action Alliance-Fact Sheets
Provide detailed information about the well-being of young children in Arizona and one-page summaries of some of the issues affecting them and their families.Click here for web link»

Elliot Pollack and Company
A real estate and economic consulting firm that provides consultation on all aspects of the Arizona economy with specialization in the real estate market.Click here for web link»

Best Practices & Case Studies in Affordable/Workforce Housing

Architecture for Humanity
This site provides many different links to outside building and community development design.Click here for web link»

California State Best Housing Projects
State of California’s Housing and Community Development site highlights the State’s best housing projects encompassing rehabilitation, new designs, materials or methods of construction, resulting in exceptional value or affordability.Click here for web link»

Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing Design
This center provides affordable housing design research, outreach on housing design and the community planning process, and construction in Mantua-West Powelton neighborhood in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Click here for web link»

Design Matters
Provided by the City Design Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago, this site provides a catalog of affordable housing located throughout the U. S.Click here for web link»

Policy Link-Affordable Housing
Provided by Policy Link, this site describes the term “affordable housing” and explains the many issues defining it.Click here for web link»

Cohousing

The Cohousing Association of the United States
This association combines the advantages of private homes with the benefits of more sustainable living, including shared common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors.Click here for web link»

The Elder Cohousing Network
This site provides a national database of individuals, businesses and organizations wanting to create and/or live in an age-targeted cohousing neighborhood.Click here for web link»

Community Research and Measurements

Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute, a non-partisan think-tank that provides measures for community research.Click here for web link»

Catalog of Administrative Data Sources for Neighborhood Indicators
Prepared by Claudia J. Coulton (2008) for the Urban Institute, the monograph is a catalog that describes 42 data sources and gives examples of the types of neighborhood indicators that can be constructed from each.Click here for web link»

Genuine Progress Indicator-Maryland
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), an alternative to the gross domestic product (GDP), enables policymakers at the national, state, regional, or local level to measure how well their citizens are doing both economically and socially.Click here for web link»

Institute of Community Economics (ICE)
Through technical assistance, financial support, and advocacy, ICE builds the capacity of a national network of community land trusts (CLTs) and other locally controlled organizations for permanently affordable housing and community economic development.Click here for web link»

National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
A collaborative effort by the Urban Institute and local partners to further the development and use of neighborhood-level information systems in local policymaking and community building.Click here for web link»

Prevention Institute
Focuses on complex health and social issues in fields such as injury and violence prevention, traffic safety, health disparities, nutrition and physical activity, and youth development.Click here for web link»

Research to Develop a Community Needs Index
This research provides a foundation for future analysis of community needs by testing the feasibility of relying on the American Community Survey (ACS) and devising a methodology to compare conditions in communities over time.Click here for web link»

Sustainable Measures
Sustainable Measures is a private consulting firm dedicated to promoting sustainable communities, primarily through the development, understanding and use of effective indicators and systems for measuring progress.Click here for web link»

The Asset-Based Community Development Institute
Established by the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. Challenges the traditional approach to solving urban problems and instead focuses on community assets in sustainable community revitalization.Click here for web link»

Compact Development & Residential Density

Measuring Density: Working Definitions for Residential Density and Building Intensity
From: Design Center for American Urban Landscape, Design Brief, Number 8 / July 2003. This design brief outlines a number of general considerations in measuring density and then proposes twenty measures that quantify different aspects of place.Click here for web link»

This View of Density
This interactive site, developed by Sierra Club, shows how neighborhood density impacts the environment (land, materials, energy and driving) by comparing San Francisco neighborhoods.Click here for web link»

Vancouver’s EcoDensity Initiative
To face its housing challenges, Vancouver developed a new initiative called EcoDensity. The site provides information and a primer booklet that depicts specific efforts to build communities that are green, livable and affordable in the city.Click here for web link»

Databases and Resource Clearinghouses

ArchNewsNow
This site provides national and international news, projects, products, and events in the world of architecture and design.Click here for web link»

Berkley-Universal Design Library
This is a selected list of resources in the UC Berkeley libraries and on the Web prepared for the students and faculty at the University of California, Berkeley.Click here for web link»

BUBL Link
Provided by BUBL, this site provides a catalogue of Internet architecture resources using the Dewey Decimal Classification System.Click here for web link»

Building Energy Codes Research Program
U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Energy Codes Program is an information resource on national model energy codes.Click here for web link»

BuildingGreen.com
Building Green offers print and electronic resources to help design and build construction projects from a whole-systems perspective and take an integrated design approach that minimizes ecological impact and maximizes economic performance.Click here for web link»

Data Sets-HUD USER- Policy Development and Research Information
This site contains a wealth of information that can be used by professionals in nearly every field for planning, decision making, market research, or various kinds of program development.Click here for web link»

Enterprise Resource Database
This website provides hands-on, how-to documents and in-depth expertise on a variety of topics, such as affordable housing, community building, housing finance, preservation, and supportive housing.Click here for web link»

HCD Bibliographies (California Housing and Community Development Department)
This site provides links to electronic bibliographies on selected housing and land use research topics, compiling best practices and current research.Click here for web link»

Housing Information Gateway (University of Colorado-Boulder/Housing Information Center)
This site provides information on and links to housing resources on the Internet. This site is an “elaboration” of the Encyclopedia of Housing.Click here for web link»

HousingPolicy.org: Online Guide to State and Local Housing Policy
HousingPolicy.org is a resource developed by the Center for Housing Policy to provide information on successful policies that states and localities have adopted to expand the availability of homes for working families.Click here for web link»

HUD User
This site provides housing policy development and research information service which includes over 1,000 publications and data sets.Click here for web link»

InformeDesign
This is a research and communication tool by University of Minnesota for designers including research summaries that are added weekly.Click here for web link»

Institute for Local Government Housing Resource Center: Inclusionary Housing Web Resources
As the joint effort of the League of California Cities and its nonprofit research affiliate, the Institute for Local Government, this site offers helpful resources available to local officials in terms of understanding housing policy options and issues.Click here for web link»

Internet links for Housing (National Low Income Housing Coalition)
This site provides links to government sites, and national policy and advocacy organizations within the US.Click here for web link»

KnowledgePlex (Fannie Mae Foudation)
This site provides affordable housing and community development research aimed at professionals and contains information associated with the development, finance, management, and preservation of affordable housing.Click here for web link»

NeighborWorks Alerts
This is a monthly e-newsletter in the field of community development, including up-dates on policy issues, news from organizations in the NeighborWorks network, funding opportunities, and training events.Click here for web link»

Planetizen
This is a public-interest information exchange provided by Urban Insight for the urban planning, design, and development community.Click here for web link»

PolicyMap
Produced by the Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a national leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization, PolicyMap provides geographic data in the form of maps, tables and reports.Click here for web link»

Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse
Provided by HUD user, this site provides information on affordable housing state and local regulatory barriers and possible solutions to those barriers.Click here for web link»

Research Design Connections
Research Design Connections is a knowledge tool that comprehensively covers new research and practitioner best practices.Click here for web link»

SustainLane.com
SustainLane.com is an online guide to sustainable living. It provides a directory of local, green-friendly businesses with over 20,000 small business listings, a wide range of how-tos, news, and local business and product reviews for sustainable living.Click here for web link»

University of California Berkeley Environmental Design Library
This site is a selective bibliographic research guide to the UC Berkeley library and Internet social housing literature, both American and international. Included are basic research tools, historical sources, and strategies for finding needed materials.Click here for web link»

Green & Environmentally Sustainable Housing Practices

Building and Social Housing Foundation
Provided by an independent research organization, this site, promotes sustainable development and innovation in housing through collaborative research and knowledge transfer.Click here for web link»

Enterprise Community Partners
This is a national nonprofit in the community development and affordable housing, providing funding and expertise in these fields.Click here for web link»

Enterprise Foundation-Green
This section of the Enterprise foundation site provides Green and Healthy Affordable housing resources.Click here for web link»

Green Home Guide
The Green Home Guide by US Green Building Council provides resources in the form of project profiles, videos, slideshows, interactive tools, links, etc. on green design and products.Click here for web link»

Housing Reports
Provided on the Smart Growth site, they provide numerous reports on housing by various sources.Click here for web link»

National Association of Home Builders Research Center-Green links
This site provides “green” information in the form of building guidelines, building programs, and books and resources.Click here for web link»

Smart House Designs
The Living Smart house plan program is a pilot program intended to be an incentive to easily build well designed houses on narrow lots in the City of Portland.Click here for web link»

The Energy Yardstick: Using PLACE3S to Create More Sustainable Communities
Produced for the Center for Excellence for Sustainable Development and the EERE, this document lays out a process for measuring the energy efficiency and sustainability of various community development approaches.Click here for web link»

Active Living by Design
This program establishes innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies and communications strategies.Click here for web link»

Active Living Research
A national program of the Robert Woods Foundation that identifies environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity.Click here for web link»

Alliance for Healthy Homes
Alliance for Healthy Homes is a nonprofit organization working to prevent and eliminate hazards in our homes that can harm children, families, and other residents. These hazards include lead, mold, carbon monoxide, radon, pests, and pesticides.Click here for web link»

Building Healthy Communities 101
A primer on growth and housing development for Los Angeles neighborhoodsClick here for web link»

Healthy Building Network
A national network of green building professionals, environmental and health activists, socially responsible investment advocates and others interested in promoting healthier building materialsClick here for web link»

National Center for Healthy Housing
A nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to bring the public health, housing, and environmental communities together to combat the nation’s epidemic of childhood lead poisoning.Click here for web link»

Housing Cooperatives & Limited/Shared Equity Models

Amalgamated Housing Cooperatives
The oldest limited equity housing cooperative in the United States that provides affordable housing and a strong community for 1,500 moderate-income families.Click here for web link»

National Association of Housing Cooperatives
This is a nonprofit national cooperative housing organization to represent, inform, perpetuate, serve and inspire the nation’s housing cooperatives.Click here for web link»

Policy Link
Provided by a national research and action institute, this site describes the “Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives” program which provides various types of cooperative housing and various levels of density.Click here for web link»

University of Wisconsin’s Center for Cooperatives
The Center provides links to publications, programs and conferences, provided by the University of Wisconsin.Click here for web link»

Housing for Seniors & Multigenerational Housing

AARP Housing Choices
Provided by AARP, this site describes the different affordable housing choices available to older adults (assisted living, nursing homes, and various other apartments etc.)Click here for web link»

Dementia Design Info
This website was created to help designers, providers, and others interested in creating supportive shared residential care settings for people with dementia. It provides extensive literature review, practical information and a few case studies.Click here for web link»

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
A program of the Beatitudes Center D.O.A.R. offers support and assistance to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.Click here for web link»

The GrandFamilies House
A 27-unit building that incorporates spaces and services that support an increasing phenomenon across the country — grandparents raising their grandchildren.Click here for web link»

Housing-Relevant Journals, Magazines & Newsletters

Archnet-IJAR, International Journal of Architectural Research
This journal is published and archived by Archnet, an online community for architects, planners, urban designers, interior designers, landscape architects, and scholars working in these fields. (2007-Present). Full text PDF.Click here for web link»

Berkeley Planning Journal
An annual peer-reviewed journal published by graduate students in the Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) at the University of California, Berkeley since 1985. Table of contents only (1985-Present)Click here for web link»

BRE Good Building Guide
This is an easy one-stop access to the information providers in the built environment sector. Search engine only (for books)Click here for web link»

Builder-National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
A magazine provided by the National Association of Home Builders, the voice of America’s housing industry. Full Text (HTML) (2001- Present)Click here for web link»

Building Research and Information
An international refereed journal publishing articles of well-detailed research and of significance to the international community. Table of Contents and list of themed issues (1997-Present) Free online access for the latest issueClick here for web link»

Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning
It provides an international platform for the exchange of ideas and information between urban planners and policy makers from government, non-government organizations, academia and consultancy. Table of contents Full text PDF (1983-Present)Click here for web link»

Environment and Behavior
This journal analyzes and records the influence of environment on individuals, groups and institutions. Table of contents Full text PDF (1999-Present)Click here for web link»

Environmental Building News
This is a monthly newsletter published since 1992 featuring comprehensive, practical information related to sustainable design in the built environment. Table of contents Purchase on-line for ($199/year or $12.95/week) through The BuildingGreen Suite.Click here for web link»

Environmental Planning A
This is an interdisciplinary journal of urban and regional research. Table of contents (1969-Present) Full text (PDF) (2000-Present)Click here for web link»

Environmental Planning B: Planning and Design
This is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on urban planning and design. Table of contents Full text (PDF) (2000-Present)Click here for web link»

Environmental Planning C: Government and Policy
This is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on government and policy with an international perspective. Table of contents Full text (PDF) (2001-Present)Click here for web link»

Environmental Planning D: Society and Space
This is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on the relations between society and space. Table of contents Full text (PDF) (2001-Present)Click here for web link»

European Journal of Housing Policy
This journal focuses on housing policy, systems and practice in Europe from a social science perspective. Table of contents with abstract (2001-Present)Click here for web link»

Habitat Debate
This is an international journal provided through the United Nations Human Settlements Program: UN-HABITAT. List of themed issues Full text (HTML) (1997-Present)Click here for web link»

Harvard Design Magazine
This magazine provides a forum for thoughtful and articulate practitioners, journalists, and academics, primarily from architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design and planning. List of themed issues Full text (PDF and HTML) (2001-Present)Click here for web link»

Home Cultures
This new interdisciplinary journal, first published in March 2004, is the first forum wholly dedicated to the critical understanding of the domestic sphere across timeframes and cultures. Table of contents (2004-Present)Click here for web link»

Housing and Society- Housing Education and Research Association (HERA)
This journal supports the mission of Housing Education and Research Association by providing for the dissemination of housing research and other scholarly work. Issues with abstracts (PDF) (2003-Present)Click here for web link»

Housing Studies
This international journal focuses on the theoretical and analytical developments within the housing field. Table of contents and abstracts (1996-Present)Click here for web link»

Housing Theory and Society
This journal focuses on the application and development of social theory in the housing field. Table of contents and abstracts (1997-2005) (earlier ones no abstracts)Click here for web link»

Journal of American Planning Association (JAPA)
This journal focuses on current research, commentaries, and reviews on planning and urban development. Table of contents with partial abstracts (1988-Present) Full text (PDF) for selected articles with single, monthly pass (1935-Present)Click here for web link»

Journal of Architectural and Planning Research
This international interdisciplinary journal focuses on architecture, design, and planning. Table of contents and sample articles (PDF) (2001-2006)Click here for web link»

Journal of Architectural Education (JAE)
This journal, from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, focuses on the teaching of architecture. Table of contents (2003) Full text available through Blackwell publishing, $58/yearClick here for web link»

Journal of Architecture
It is an international peer-reviewed journal committed to advancing theory, research and practice for design in the built environment. Table of contents and abstracts (1996-Present)Click here for web link»

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
This journal publishes papers that aim to advance the science of construction engineering, and further education and research in construction engineering and management. Search engine with issues Full text (PDF) (March/April 1990-Present)Click here for web link»

Journal of Housing and Community Development- National Assoc. of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
This journal focuses on housing and community development. Current feature articles and descriptionClick here for web link»

Journal of Housing for the Elderly
This journal is for gerontological professionals of architecture, housing, urban planning, and public policy responsible for the residential environments of the elderly. Table of contents and abstract Full text (PDF) 60.00/year with subscriptionClick here for web link»

Shelterforce- National Housing Institute (NHI)
The nation’s oldest continually-published housing and community development magazine for organizers, activists and advocates in the affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization movements. Search engine with issues Full text (HTML) (1994-Present)Click here for web link»

Urban Morphology: Journal of the International Seminar on Urban Form
This journal, by the International Seminar on Urban Form, seeks to advance research and practice in fields concerned with the built environment. Table of contents (1997-Present) Full text (PDF)Click here for web link»

New Urbanism

Congress for the New Urbanism
Chicago-based non-profit organization that works with architects, developers, planners, and others involved in the creation of cities and towns, teaching them how to implement the principles of the New Urbanism.Click here for web link»

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
Private company completed designs for over 250 new and existing communities with a major influence on the practice and direction of urban planning in the United States.Click here for web link»

Urban Design Associates
This company prepared community design and architectural guidelines for residential development in a mixed-income community, “Celebration.”Click here for web link»

Professional & Academic Organizations Involved in Housing, Architecture, and Planning

American Institute of Architects
This organization represents the professional interests of the American architectural profession and a resource for its members in service to society.Click here for web link»

American Planning Association
This is a nonprofit public interest and research organization provides information on urban, suburban, regional and rural planning to practice planners, citizens and elected officials.Click here for web link»

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Being America’s oldest national engineering society, this organization represents more than 120,000 civil engineers worldwide.Click here for web link»

Architectural Research Centers Consortium, Inc. (ARCC)
This is an international consortium of architectural research centers committed to the expansion of research culture and infrastructure in architecture and related design disciplines.Click here for web link»

Architecture Research Institute
Architecture Research Institute promotes cross-disciplinary research in design and urban planning that informs public policies and strategies that create livable, compact, global cities that are eco-sustainable, walkable and less automobile dependent.Click here for web link»

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture is a membership association to advance the quality of architectural education.Click here for web link»

Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) is a consortium of university-based programs offering credentials in urban and regional planning.Click here for web link»

Building and Social Housing Foundation
The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) is an independent UK-based research organization that promotes sustainable development and innovation in housing through collaborative research and knowledge transfer.Click here for web link»

Building Research Council
This council seeks answers to many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation’s housing stock.Click here for web link»

CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) Publications
The U.K. government’s advices on architecture, urban design and public space that offers expert advice, research and debate.Click here for web link»

Cambridge Architectural Research Limited
An independent consulting company provides advice and research for construction industry, design professions and policy-making institutionsClick here for web link»

Community Associations Institute
This is a national organization whose members include community association volunteer leaders, professional managers, community management firms, and other professionals and companies that provide products and services to associations.Click here for web link»

Environmental Design Research Association
This is an international, interdisciplinary organization for the advancement and dissemination of environmental design research.Click here for web link»

Housing Education and Research Association
The organization is a major forum for professional dialogue among educators, researchers, and policy makers in the field of housing.Click here for web link»

Intentional Communities
Provided by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, this site includes resources for finding cooperative living communities and links to ecovillages, cohousing, communes, urban housing cooperatives, etc.Click here for web link»

International Association for People-Environment Studies
This charity organization works to facilitate communication on the relationships between people and their physical environment which provides a bulletin, conferences and information to its members.Click here for web link»

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) e-Newsletter
LISC provides capital, expertise, training and information to community-based organizations for the development of local leadership, affordable housing, commercial, industrial and community facilities, businesses and jobs.Click here for web link»

Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA)
MHRA is a non-profit organization with the mission of developing new technologies to enhance the value, quality, and performance of the nation’s factory built homes.Click here for web link»

National Architectural Accrediting Board Inc.
The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is the sole agency authorized to accredit US professional degree programs in architecture. Lists accredited architecture programs.Click here for web link»

National Association of Home Builders
This is a trade association that helps promote the policies that make housing a national priority for members, housing industry and public at large.Click here for web link»

National Association of Home Builders Research Center
This site provides affordable housing research, development research and interactive reports intended for the liaisons between builders and manufacturers, design professionals and housing research, and government and industry.Click here for web link»

National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
This organization is a housing and community development advocate for the provision of adequate and affordable housing and strong, viable communities for all Americans. Their members administer HUD Programs (Public Housing, Section 8, CDBG and HOME).Click here for web link»

National Housing Institute
An independent nonprofit organization that examines the issues causing crises in housing and community in America specific areas include housing, jobs, safety, and education.Click here for web link»

National Low Income Housing Coalition
This organization focuses their advocacy on those with the most serious housing problems, the lowest income households with the aim of ending affordable housing crisis of the US.Click here for web link»

National Multi Housing Council
The Washington, DC-based National Council is and advocate and strategic consultant for the apartment industry.Click here for web link»

New Ecology Inc.
New Ecology, Inc. was founded in 1999 to spearhead sustainable development in distressed urban communities in New England. This organization joins environmental quality with economic development in urban communities.Click here for web link»

New England Public Policy Center (NEPPC)
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Public Policy Center conducts research, provides resources and disseminates information on economic and public policy issues that affect the region.Click here for web link»

New Village Institute (NVI)
Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, the New Village Institute (NVI) is a nonprofit research and educational organization established in 2006 to cultivate sustainable community, livelihood, technology and culture.Click here for web link»

Planners Network
This is an association of professionals, activists, academics, and students involved in physical, social, economic, and environmental planning in urban and rural areas.Click here for web link»

Project for Public Spaces
A nonprofit organization focused on creating and sustaining public places that build communities.Click here for web link»

Toolbase Services: The Home Building Industry’s Technical Information Resources
The housing industry’s resource for technical information on building products, materials, new technologies, business management, and housing systems.Click here for web link»

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD is the Federal agency responsible for national policy and programs that address America’s housing needs, and enforce fair housing laws.Click here for web link»

Urban Affairs Association
An international professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public service providers that provides information about urbanism and urbanization.Click here for web link»

Urban Institute Home
This site provides economic and social policy research through a nonpartisan research organization.Click here for web link»

Urban Land Institute
A nonprofit research and education organization that provides leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.Click here for web link»

Smart Growth & Livable Communities

Center for Communities by Design
Provided by the American Institute of Architects, this site provides livability issue links through their Center for Communities by Design.Click here for web link»

Center for Community Change-Issues: Housing and Communities
The purpose of this center is to help establish and develop community organizations across the country, “bring attention to major national issues related to poverty,” and “help insure that government programs are responsive to community needs.”Click here for web link»

Complete Streets Coalition
The National Complete Streets Coalition seeks to fundamentally transform the look, feel and function of the roads and streets to enable safe access for all users, by changing the way most roads are planned, designed, and constructed.Click here for web link»

Georgia Quality Growth Partnership (GQGP)
GQGP is a collaboration among diverse public and private entities that seeks to provide local governments and citizens with the tools and knowledge to transform the way high quality Georgia communities are defined, created, and sustained.Click here for web link»

LEED for Neighborhood Development
Rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.Click here for web link»

Livable Communities Coalition
The Coalition promotes quality growth in Atlanta by implementing quality growth plans in communities around the metro area, promoting public policy that supports quality growth, and by educating and communicating the benefits of quality growth.Click here for web link»

LivCom Awards-The International Awards for Livable Communities
LivCom is the world’s only Awards Competition focusing on Best Practice regarding the management of the local environment with the objective to improve the quality of life of individual citizens through the creation of ‘livable communities’.Click here for web link»

National Center for Bicycling & Walking
The National Center for Bicycling & Walking (NCBW) is the major program of the Bicycle Federation of America, Inc. (BFA) whose mission is to create bicycle-friendly and walkable communities.Click here for web link»

National Center for Safe Routes to School’s Walkability Checklist
This website provides a checklist to rate your neighborhood’s walkability.Click here for web link»

New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy, and Livable Communities
This conference focuses on interdependence; that is all of us are affected the environments in which we live, work, learn, shop and play – and all of us have a role to play in shaping those environments.Click here for web link»

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center attempts to improve the quality of life in communities through the increase of safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity.Click here for web link»

Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System
The Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System provides practitioners with the latest information available for improving the safety and mobility of those who walk.Click here for web link»

PLACEMATTERS
This is a living laboratory where a national network of creative practitioners come together to learn, share, inspire and seed innovation in place, collectively elevating the art and science of planning for vibrant and sustainable communities.Click here for web link»

Smart City Radio
A weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities.Click here for web link»

Smart Growth America
A coalition of the best-known national, state and local organizations advocating on behalf of historic preservation, the environment, farmland and open space preservation, neighborhood revitalization and more.Click here for web link»

Smart Growth Online
This site provides many resource areas (bibliographies, documents, etc.) as well as specific topics of smart growth are organized into issue areas that each contains overviews and on-line resources.Click here for web link»

Sustainable Measures
Sustainable Measures is a private consulting firm dedicated to promoting sustainable communities, primarily through the development, understanding and use of effective indicators and systems for measuring progress.Click here for web link»

The Next American City
Non-profit organization addresses the changes of American cities through a quarterly magazine, events across the country, and op-eds in major newspapers, promotes socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth.Click here for web link»

Walk Wise, Drive Smart
Walk Wise, Drive Smart is a community-based pedestrian safety program working to build community support for and awareness of senior-pedestrian safety issues.Click here for web link»

Statistical Information & Resources

American housing survey for the United States 1985-2005
This site provides data on the current American Housing Survey reports.Click here for web link»

Economic & Housing Data
In this site, National Association of Home Builders provides in-depth economic analyses of the home building industry based on private and government data.Click here for web link»

Housing + Transportation Affordability Index
Developed by CNT and CTOD, this tool measures the true affordability of housing. It takes into account not just the cost of housing, but also the intrinsic value of place, as quantified through transportation costs.Click here for web link»

Housing Topics
Provided by U.S. Bureau of the Census, this site is a major resource for housing data.Click here for web link»

Statistical Resources on the web: demographics and housing
Provided by University of Michigan-Documents Center, this is a source of U.S. and international housing statistics.Click here for web link»

U.S. Census Bureau-Daytime Population and Employment
The concept of the daytime population refers to the number of people who are present in an area during normal business hours, including workers. Information is in Excel and CSV format.Click here for web link»

U.S. Housing Market Conditions
Published quarterly, this periodical is a compilation of statistical data and written reports.Click here for web link»

Supportive Housing

Beyond Shelter
Provides services linked to housing to address the long-term needs of families and individuals caught in a cycle of chronic poverty.Click here for web link»

Corporation for Supportive Housing
Provides loans and grants to supportive housing sponsors, by strengthening the supportive housing industry, and by reforms public policy to make it easier to create and operate supportive housing.Click here for web link»

Universal Design and Fair Housing Design

Access Board
This is an independent Federal agency which provides technical assistance and information on ADA and other access-related legislation.Click here for web link»

Center for Universal Design
This is a national information, technical assistance, and research center that evaluates, develops, and promotes accessible and universal design in housing, commercial and public facilities, outdoor environments, and products.Click here for web link»

Disability.gov: Accessible & Affordable Housing Options
This section of Disability.gov has information about housing rights, tax credits, making a home accessible, and supportive housing services that can help people with disabilities live independent, self-directed lives.Click here for web link»

Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities: Barriers at Every Step (June 2005)
Prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this 123-page report aims to advance the state-of-the-art in testing to measure discrimination against persons with disabilities, for both research and enforcement purposes.Click here for web link»

European Design for all e-Accessibility Network
This site is a resource tool for universal design in Europe.Click here for web link»

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST
Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements.Click here for web link»

Homemods.org
Initiated by the National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification, this website provides assistance and resources to help adapt home environments to make tasks easier, reduce accidents, and support independent living.Click here for web link»

International Code Council: Fair Housing
The International Code Council, a membership association, provides resources for gaining a better understanding of and complying with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) accessibility requirements.Click here for web link»

MIG Communications
MIG offers reference and curricular materials to create environments and organizations in support of human development.Click here for web link»

National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification
The Center offers practical strategies and materials to make supportive housing and home modification a more integral component of successful aging, long-term care, preventive health, and the development of elder-friendly communities.Click here for web link»

Specific Design-related Information at Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST
This site provides resources for accessibility and universal design principles and guidelines for housing design and construction.Click here for web link»

Trace Research and Development Center
Being a part of College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Trace is working on making standard information technologies and telecommunication systems more accessible.Click here for web link»

Welcome H.O.M.E.
House of Modification Examples is located 30 miles north of Milwaukee, WI. Provides information on improving the quality of life for persons living with physical disabilities through design + build.Click here for web link»

University Centers for Housing Design, Policy and Research

Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization of independent research and innovative policy solutions.Click here for web link»

Center for Housing Research and Policy (CHRP)
CHRP develops and maintains a database of housing related information, provide reports and analyses of significant housing trends and issues, undertake and support research contributing to the field of urban studies and the solution of housing problems.Click here for web link»

Center for Urban and Regional Policy (CURP)
The Center acts a place where faculty, staff, and students pool their expertise, resources, and commitment to address a wide range of issues facing cities, towns, and suburbs with particular emphasis on the Greater Boston region.Click here for web link»

Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR)
CUPR conducts basic and applied research on a broad spectrum of public policy issues, such as affordable housing, land use policy, environmental impact analysis, etc.Click here for web link»

Centre for Urban & Community Studies
The Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at University of Toronto promotes and disseminates multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on urban issues.Click here for web link»

City Design Center
This is a multi-disciplinary research, education, and service program in the College of Architecture and the Arts at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Center’s mission is the study and practice of design in the public interest.Click here for web link»

Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
The Furman Center is the leading academic research center in New York City devoted to the public policy aspects of real estate, land use and housing development.Click here for web link»

Housing & Demographics Research Center
This Center provides housing and demographic information related to the State of Georgia.Click here for web link»

Housing Education and Research Center (HERC)
HERC is a partnership between the Michigan Association of Home Builders (MAHB) and the Construction Management (CM) program at Michigan State University, primarily functioning as an adjunct research, education and training arm of the MAHB.Click here for web link»

Institute for Policy Research (IPR)
IPR is an interdisciplinary public policy research institute at Northwestern University whose mission is to stimulate and support social science research on significant public policy issues and to disseminate the findings.Click here for web link»

Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
IRP is a center for interdisciplinary research into the causes and consequences of poverty and social inequality in the United States.Click here for web link»

Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
IPS is the primary social science policy research and teaching arm of the Johns Hopkins University dealing with a wide range of issues including welfare dependency, child support enforcement, supportive living for vulnerable populations, etc.Click here for web link»

Joint Center for Housing Studies
Harvard University’s Joint Center for information and research on housing in the United States.Click here for web link»

McGill School of Architecture-The Affordable Homes Program
This graduate program, through the McGill School of Architecture, is geared towards students of a variety of educational backgrounds ranging from architecture to landscape design.Click here for web link»

Metropolitan Design Center
An endowed center that investigates how design can be used to make the metropolitan landscape more livable and sustainable.Click here for web link»

Michigan State Urban and Regional Planning Program
The Urban and Regional Planning Program at MSU is one of the oldest academic urban and regional planning programs in the United States with diverse research and outreach interests that address contemporary and emerging planning issues.Click here for web link»

Pennsylvania Housing Research/Resource Center
This Center serves the home building industry and the residents of Pennsylvania by improving the quality and affordability of housing.Click here for web link»

Pratt Center for Community Development
The Pratt Center for Community Development works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers, by empowering communities to plan for and realize their futures.Click here for web link»

Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing – University of Florida
This Center facilitates the provision of safe, decent, and affordable housing and related community development throughout the State of Florida.Click here for web link»

The Drachman Institute
A research and public service unit of The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at The University of Arizona dedicated to the environmentally sensitive and resource-conscious development of neighborhoods and communities.Click here for web link»

Virginia Center for Housing Research
This Center is part of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s Research Division and has a mission to serve as an interdisciplinary study, research, and information resource on housing for the Commonwealth of Virginia.Click here for web link»

Miscellaneous

American Suburb Image Collection
Provided by Yale University, this site provides various images of American Suburbs.Click here for web link»

Compilation of basic laws on housing and community development
This document contains the texts of the primary housing and community development laws.Click here for web link»

Cottage Company
A residential development company based in Seattle, Washington that builds ‘pocket neighborhoods’ of detached cottages and houses.Click here for web link»

Council on Contemporary Families
A nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the national conversation about what contemporary families need and how these needs can best be met through the dissemination of educational materials, media coverage, conferences, and seminars.Click here for web link»

Rural Housing Service
As a part of USDA Rural Development, Housing and Community Facilities Programs helps rural communities and individuals by providing loans and grants for housing and community facilitiesClick here for web link»

Urban Advantage
Urban advantage is a firm specializing in digital photo montages that show the before and simulated “after” views of infill development.Click here for web link»